Erectible shelving

ABSTRACT

Erectible metal shelving having a plurality of verticle supporting posts and bracing members extending horizontally between and secured to the posts to brace the posts in an upright position. The bracing members are secured to the posts so that the shelving can be easily assembled or disassembled without the need of any special tools.

United States Patent [191 Featherman 1 1 ERECTIBLE SHELVING [75]Inventor: Daniel J. Featherman, Philadelphia,

I Pa.

[73] Assignee: Featherinan, Featherman and Featherman, Philadelphia, Pa.

221 Filed: Aug. 22, 1972 211 App]. No.: 282,681

[52] US. Cl. 211/1176 [51] Int. Cl. A471 5/10 [58] Field of Search....211/176, 177, 148; 248/243; 108/107, 108, 109; 287/54 C, 189.36 R

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,631,913 3/1953 Rosenberg211/148 X 2,971,658 2/1961 DlAltrui 211/176 [111 3,7,9@ [4 Earn. 29,1974 3,273,720 9/1966 Seiz 211/148 3,365,073 l/1968 Degener 211/1763,510,010 5/1970 Gasner 211/176 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 844,9896/1968 Canada; 211/176 Primary Examiner-Ramon S. Britts Attorney, Agent,or Firm-Donald S. Cohen [57 ABSTRACT Erectible metal shelving having aplurality of verticle supporting posts and bracing members extendinghorizontally between and secured to the posts to brace the posts in anupright position. The bracing members are secured to the posts so thatthe shelving can be easily assembled or disassembled without the need ofany special tools.

6 Claims, 5v Drawing Figures 1 ERECTIBLE SHELVING BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION The present invention relates to the construction of erectiblemetal shelving, and more particularly to a manner of connecting abracing member to the supporting posts to brace the posts in an uprightposition.

Erectible metal shelving generally comprises a set of at least fourupright metal supporting posts and metal shelves mounted horizontallybetween the posts with the posts being at the corners of the shelves.One type of such shelving is shown in the US. Pat. to Rosenberg,

No. 2,631,913, issued Mar. 17, 1953, entitled Erectible Shelving, andthe US. Pat. to Rosenberg, No.

2,719,633, issued Oct. 5, I955, entitled Erectible Shelving and BracketsEmployed Thereby. In such shelving it is necessaryto brace thesupporting posts to firmly-support them inan upright position. It isdesirable that such bracing members be narrow, sheet metal 'beamswhichextend horizontally between the supporting posts so that the bracingmembers do not block access to the shelves from any side of theshelving. Also, such horizontally extending bracing members could beused to support the shelving, serve as bin fronts or closed bases forthe shelving. However, the connection between the narrow bracing memberand the supporting post must provide the supporting post with thenecessary bracing action. Also, it is desirable that the connectionprovide for ease of assembling and disassembling the shelving withoutthe need of any special tools.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An erectible shelving including a hollowsupporting post which is substantially rectangular in cross-section andhas a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings in one wall thereof. Abracing member has a connector secured to one end thereof whichreleasably secures the bracing member to the supporting post. Theconnector includes portions which engage at least two walls of thesupporting post, and fingers which extend through the openings in thesupporting post and engage the innersurface of the one wall of thesupporting post.

BRIEF I DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referringinitiallyto FIG. 1, theshelving assembly of the present invention isgenerally designated as 10. The shelving assembly comprises a pluralityof upright metal supporting posts 12, at least four of which arerequired, arranged at the corners of a rectangle. Brac- 2 1. ing members14 extend horizontally between and are secured to the two rearsupporting posts, and similar bracing members extend between and aresecured to the two front supporting posts. Connecting members, notshown, secure the front and rear supporting posts together in spacedrelation.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, each of the supporting posts 12 is anelongated member of hollow sheet metal construction. The supporting post12 comprises a rear wall 16, a pair of parallel side walls 18a and 18b,and a pair of aligned front walls 20a and 20b, all of which form ahollow rectangular configuration. A pair of juxtaposed, parallel flanges22a and 22b extend forwardly from the adjacent edges of the front walls20a and 20b respectively. Each of the front walls 20a and 20b has aplurality of spaced, elongated rectangular openings 24a and 24brespectively therethrough. The openings 24a and 24b are arranged inalignment with their longest edges extending longitudinally along thesupporting post 12. The flanges 22a and 22b have a plurality oflongitudinally spaced holes 26a and 26b respectively therethrough. Eachof the holes 26a in the flange 22a is in alognment with a separate hole26b in the flange 22b.

Each of the bracing members is an elongated, narrow, sheet metal channel28 having a connector 30 at each end thereof. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and4, each of the connectors 30 is a metal sheet having a front section 32,a middle section 34 extending perpendicularly from the back edge of thefront section 32, and a rear section 36 extending perpendicularly fromthe middle section 34 away from but substantially parallel to the frontsection 32. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the front section 32 is of alength corresponding to the length of the flanges 22a and 22b of thepost 12. The middle section 34 is of a length corresponding to that ofthe front walls 20a and 20b of the post, and the rear section 36 is of alength corresponding to that of the side walls 18a and 18b of the post.The connector 30 is of a height so as to extend over and slightly beyondthree of the rectangular openings 24a and 24b in the front walls of theposts.

.The connector 30 has three spaced openings 38 therethrough, eachextending from the rear edge of the front section 32 completely acrossthe middle section 34and partiallyacross the rear section 36. Each ofthe openings 38 is of a height corresponding to the height of arectangular opening 24a and 24b in the post front walls 200 and 20b. Theopenings 38 are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacingbetween the rectangular openings 24a and 2412. Flat fingers 40 extendfrom the back edge of the front section 32 at each of the openings 38with the top edges of the fingers being slightly below the tope edges ofthe openings 38. As shown in FIG. 4, the fingers 40 are bent slightlytoward the rear section 36 and then extend parallel to the rear section.A lip 42 extends downwardly from the end of each of the fingers 40. Theinside edge 44 of each lip 42 is tapered away from the rear edge of thefront section 32 so as to provide a camming surface. A mounting flange46 extends perpendicularly from the rear edge of the rear section 36away from the plane of the front section 32. The mounting flange 46 isof a height to fit into the channel 28, and is secured thereto, such asby bolts 48. However, the mounting flange46 may be secured to thechannel 28 by any known means,

such as rivets or welding, or may be an integral part of the channel.

To secure a bracing member 14 to a supporting post 12, the connector 30is placed adjacent the supporting post 12 with the front section 32 ofthe connector being juxtaposed a flange of the supporting post and thefingers 40 being in alignment with three of the rectangular openings inthe supporting post. Theconnector 30 is then moved to insert the fingers40 into the rectangular openings until the middle section 34 of theconnector 30 abuts the front wall of the supporting post, and the rearsection 36 of the connector is juxtaposed to a side wall of thesupporting post. At this point the lips 42 of the fingers 40 arecompletely within the hollow portion of the supporting post. Theconnector 30 is then pressed vertically downwardly to move the lips 42of the fingers 40 behind the front wall of the supporting post as shownin FIG. 5. As the lips 42 move downwardly in the supporting post, thecamming surfaces 44 of the lips engage the front wall of the supportingpost to cammingly lock the lips in the supporting post. Thus, theconnector 30 is secured to the supporting post 12 without the need ofany special tools, except perhaps for a hammer. To remove the bracingmember, it is only necessary to lift the connector 30 upwardly until thefingers 40 engage the top ends of the rectangular openings, and thenpull the fingers out of the post.

Thus, there is provided an erectible shelving having bracing memberswhich can be mounted horizontally between the supporting posts at anypoint along the supporting posts. The bracing members have connectorswhich can be easily secured to and removed from the supporting postswithout the need for any special tools. Also, the connectors firmlysecure the bracing member to the supporting posts. In addition, sincethe connector has portions which engage three surfaces of the supportingposts over a length longer than the width of the bracing member, thereis provided a great load bearing strength between the bracing member andthe supporting posts. The bracing member in addition to providingsupport for the supporting posts can be used to support shelving, serveas a bin front or base for the shelving.

I claim:

1. An erectible shelving comprising a hollow supporting post which issubstantially rectangular in cross-section and has a plurality oflongitudinally spaced openins in one wall thereof and a flange extendingsubstantially perpendicularly outwardly from said one wall,

a bracing member, and

a connector secured to an end of the bracing member and releasablysecuring said bracing member to said supporting post, said connectorhaving a front section engaging said flange, a middle section extendingfrom the back edge of the front section and engaging said one wall ofthe supporting post, a rear section extending from the middle sectionaway from the front section and engaging a wall of the supporting postadjacent the one wall and a plurality of fingers extending through theopenings in the supporting post and engaging the inner surface of saidone wall of the supporting post.

2. An erectible shelving in accordance with claim 1 in which the fingersof the connector extend from the back edge of the front sectionsubstantially parallel to but spaced from the rear section.

3. An erectible shelving in accordance with claim 2 in which each of thefingers has a downwardly extending lip on its end.

4. An erectible shelving in accordance with claim 3 in which each of thelips of the fingers has a camming edge which engages the inner surfaceof the one wall of the supporting post.

5. An erectible shelving in accordance with claim 4 in which the cammingedge of each of the lips is tapered downwardly and away from the backedge of the front section of the connector.

6. An erectible shelving in accordance with claim 5 in which theconnector has a mounting flange extending substantially perpendicularlyfrom the rear edge of the rear section, said mounting flange beingsecured to the bracing member.

1. An erectible shelving comprising a hollow supporting post which issubstantially rectangular in cross-section and has a plurality oflongitudinally spaced openins in one wall thereof and a flange extendingsubstantially perpendicularly outwardly from said one wall, a bracingmember, and a connector secured to an end of the bracing member andreleasably securing said bracing member to said supporting post, saidconnector having a front section engaging said flange, a middle sectionextending from the back edge of the front section and engaging said onewall of the supporting post, a rear section extending from the middlesection away from the front section and engaging a wall of thesupporting post adjacent the one wall and a plurality of fingersextending through the openings in the supporting post and engaging theinner surface of said one wall of the supporting post.
 2. An erectibleshelving in accordance with claim 1 in which the fingers of theconnector extend from the back edge of the front section substantiallyparallel to but spaced from the rear section.
 3. An erectible shelvingin accordance with claim 2 in which each of the fingers has a downwardlyextending lip on its end.
 4. An erectible shelving in accordance withclaim 3 in which each of the lips of the fingers has a camming edgewhich engages the inner surface of the one wall of the supporting post.5. An erectible shelving in accordance with claim 4 in which the cammingedge of each of the lips is tapered downwardly and away from the backedge of the front section of the connector.
 6. An erectible shelving inaccordance with claim 5 in which the connector has a mounting flangeextending substantially perpendicularly from the rear edge of the rearsection, said mounting flange being secured to the bracing member.